Tradition Conversion

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eurekastar

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
2,303
Location
Amarillo, Texas
I've been tinkering with the idea of converting a Kirby Tradition Emtor to accept a Heritage fill tube collar. I experimented with Loctite but wasn't satisfied with that. So I simply took my drill and punched a couple of holes in the mounting flange so that it can accept the screws for the collar. And it worked like a charm! If you look carefully, you can see the screws. But they're kind of hidden because I also put a bead of silicone caulk around it to ensure that it is air tight as possible.

eurekastar++12-9-2010-20-26-38.jpg
 
Et Voila! I can now use the F Style Poly Bags on my Tradition! Not only is the filtration vastly improved, but there is a noticeable increase in power. I was originally planning to use an older bag. But after I laundered and installed it, I noticed that the older bag was actually smaller than the new bag I bought a few months ago. I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing because the new bag can expand more then it may result in an increase in power. Just a guess. Anyway, I went with the new bag.

eurekastar++12-9-2010-20-32-52.jpg
 
Eurekastar,
What size screws did you use? And, is the silicone gel necessary or just a cosmetic item? Isn't the screw a tight enough fit? Are they flat head or philips? Could you use a torx as well?

I would like to do this to my Tradition and Classic III.
 
@ Air-WayCharlie

Well, I don't really know what size screw it is. I simply used the Phillips head screws that came off the Heritage. If you buy one of the collars, I think it comes with the screws. Seems like I've seen that. The silicone probably isn't necessary too. I'm sure the gasket on the collar is sufficient. I'm just being a little anal! LOL!
 
Tradition convert.

I converted my Tradition the easy way. I took a HII mini-emtor, fill tube and the tube adaptor from a G4(when I worked for a Kirby dealer we had to replace the whole mini emtor and tube assembly at the same time on G4's if the fill tube was damaged.) So I had a lot of the tube adaptors at one time. I did think it was cool to toss out good parts. Anyway, it was really easy. Now I am trying to find a used HII mini-emtor so I can convert my commercial Kirby (Super Vac 180) to use the Kirby HEPA bags(the cheeper cloth bags you can find on ebay.) If anyone out there in Vacuum Land has an HII mini emtor they don't want let me know.
email me at [email protected]
Thanks all.
 
I did a Legend II conversion on my Classic III. I used a Heritage emptor and fill tube, etc. and a Legend II zipper bag. It works out great. I use the Micron Magic bags in it.

I also did a conversion on my Dual Sanitronic 50. I know some purists may gasp, but I did it anyway. I used a Classic series brown lid emptor with a tradition fill assembly. I installed a full length zipper in the matching tan bag. It works out well. I don't use it alot, so it makes emptying the bag alot more convenient. If I let the shake-out bag sit, it would get an odor. This way, I can change the paper bag if needed.

~Tim
 

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